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The Phantom of Manhatten
"The Phantom of Manhattan" is a 1999 novel by Frederick Forsyth , Intended as a sequel to "The Phantom of the Opera ( The Webber Version not The orginal book) Novel Forsyth's literary concept is that Gaston Leroux had recorded factual events but, in review, had apparently not checked his facts or viewed his sources with a critical eye. Accordingly the novel can be read as both a tribute to the Lloyd Webber musical and a satire of period novels in the vein of George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman series (both a satire and exploration of Victorian history and stories). The beginning of The Phantom of Manhattan is narrated by an ailing Madame Giry, and set in the early 1900s. Famous individuals of the time, such as Theodore Roosevelt, make appearances. According to the story, Christine has married Raoul, and the couple have a son named Pierre. The Phantom has become a very rich theatre owner in New York and writes an opera hoping to lure Christine to play the lead. The story also provides details about the Phantom's past and his relationship with Madame Giry not contained in the original novel and musical. There is also the introduction of a new character called Darius, a greedy man who often assists the Phantom, and to whom the Phantom has promised to leave the opera house after his death. That promise is tested by Christine's arrival in New York, but Darius is determined to own the opera house himself. Christine's son turns out to be The Phantoms. Love Never Dies Andrew Lloyd Webber has completed and staged several musical productions of his adaptation of Forsyth's work titled, "Love Never Dies". The roots of this musical go back to at least 1997, when author Frederick Forsyth published, with Lloyd Webber's endorsement, his novel 'The Phantom of Manhattan'. This book, intended as a sequel to Lloyd Webber's first Phantom musical, followed the story of the Phantom after the end of that musical, as he flees to America and eventually becomes a very wealthy (if reclusive) impresario of a Coney Island show called The Phantasma . While the book went against many of the ideas established in the original book, with reactions ranging from simply ignoring its existence to outright hatred, Webber leaned into those elements and retained the sever shift in characteristics regarding Christine, Raul, Eric, and even had it spill over into Madame Giry and her daughter Meg. "Phan" Hatred Many Phantom of the Opera fans hate the book and would rather pretend it doesn't exist, mainly since it ignores many of the book's general ideas (most notably that Erik's death never seemed to happen). Many Phans are expressing their disgust in Webber's sequel, claiming that it will ruin the whole idea of the first one. Trivia The character of Darius, or at least his name, may be based on a minor character in Gaston Leroux's original novel. Darius was the servant of a character named the Persian, who saved Erik (the Phantom) from death before the beginning of the novel. He was mentioned several times, but his largest contribution to the story was his bringing the pistols to his master and Raoul when they were preparing to enter the House on the Lake.